Gridders Rain Dance on Cornell, 25-13

The Harvard football team's 25-13 win over Cornell at Harvard Stadium Saturday basically came down to two elements an injured star who didn't even bother to show up for the contest and an injured star who helped his team to a substantial halftime lead before leaving the game.

The former is Cornell's Derrick Harmon, last year's Ivy Sophomore of the Year and the leading returning rusher in the league. He suffered a hip-pointer in the Big Red's season opener and had played sparingly since that time. Last week against Boston University, he ran for more than 80 yards in the first half, but sat out the 30 minutes after intermission.

Still, Harvard expected the Big Red fail-back to be rarin' to go for Saturday's game, since it was an important Ivy contest for both teams. And yet, as kick-off time approached, word traveled quickly that Harmon had not even made the trip to Cambridge Chalk one up for the Crimson.

The latter player is Harvard quarterback Don Allard, who only got a chance to play this season after starter Ron Cuccia was knocked out on opening day with a fractured rib, and who got hanged up enough last time out against Army to warrant a week of rest Unlike Harmon, however, Allard was ready when toe touched pigskin at 1:30 p.m. and stayed in the game even after he'd suffered a painful injury of his own.

It happened in the following way Allard, who had already run for one touchdown and thrown for another to carry Harvard to a 12-7 second quarter lead, had the Crimson moving again with just 2-19 left in the half.

Harvard had blocked a Cornell punt only moments before, and probably would have already been in the end zone if linebacker Andy Nolan, who picked up the bouncing ball, hadn't slipped on the wet turf at the Cornell 36-yard line.

Allard wasted no time, hitting flanker Jim Garvey on a 13-yard toss on the first play. After an incomplete pass and a one-yard gain by halfback Scott McCabe, the Crimson quarterback took the ball himself for another 13-yard gain, to the Cornell eight. Unfortunately, a holding penalty moved the Crimson back to its own 27, faced with a third-and-15 situation.

Allard rolled right and hit split end Wally Rutecki on a curl along the right sideline for 14 yards, bringing up a fourth-and-one play with 1 17 left in the half Harvard called time out and decided to go for the yard and a chance for six points, rather than settle for a field goal. The decision resulted in some immediate good news and some bad news momentarily delayed.

The good news was that an Allard keeper off right tackle picked up three yards and the first down. The bad news, though no one was aware of it at the time, turned out to be that the helmet of Cornell safety Tim Dolan smashed into Allard's left collarbone, bruising it so badly that the early words trickling into the press box were that Allard had a broken shoulder.

Despite the hit Allard stayed in the game, and three plays later the Harvard signal-caller rolled left and snaked the ball through the defense to Garvey cutting toward the center of the end zone for an 18-7 Harvard lead.

Allard, (11 of 16, 104 yards, two TDs) did not come back for the second half as a result of his bad bone bruise, but the three touchdowns he put on the board before intermission, and a beautiful scoring drive executed by third-string QB Jack Riordan to open the second half--including Riordan's own 41-yard run--proved enough to clinch Harvard's second Ivy victory-(against no defeats) on the year, and raise the Crimson's overall record to 3-1. Harvard is in second place, behind Penn (3-0), in the league. And--further delayed good news--Allard is expected to be okay for next week's important Ivy contest against Dartmouth.

On a miserably wet and rainy day (which limited the crowd to a generous estimate of 8000), the Harvard defense dominated a Harmon-less Cornell squad. Especially noticeable when Cornell had the ball were linebacker Joe Azelby (a game-high 10 tackles and one INT) and defensive ends Pat Fleming who pressured Big Red QB Jeff Hammond all afternoon and finished with four sacks, and Joe Margolis, who had lots of pressure as well and finished with five tackles and three assists.

Harvard's other touchdowns came on a four-yard run by Allard in the first quarter, finishing a 44-yard drive; a seven-yard. Allard-to-tight end Pete Ceko loss with 3:33 left in the second quarter, culminating a 13-play, 71-yard, four minute and 43 second Crimson drive; and a six-yard run off right tackle by McCabe at the three-minute mark of the third period, pushing Harvard's lead to an insurmountable, 25-7.